Magnetic Attraction Fitting To Her Hobby

Her collection is nowhere near her refrigerator, though - not since it outgrew the two sides of the appliance it once covered.

The collection is now displayed on two large sheet-metal, wood-framed boards made for Adams by friends. The 995 magnets she's accumulated during seven years of collecting almost fill the space they offer.

She bought her first magnets - hand-crafted butterflies - at the Bloomsburg Fair, never dreaming it would lead to a collection.

Persons who have never seen a similar collection of this size probably have no idea of the variety available - everything from sea shells and chocolates that look good enough to eat to tiny wreaths and Delft windmills.

A number of magnets are miniature replicas of household items like the set of decorated kitchen utensils that includes a whisk with a tiny egg in it, along with a rolling pin, hand beater and meat grinder.

In this line, Adams also has a straw rake, a pair of pliers, a scrubboard standing in a metal washtub with a bar of soap, a metal mailbox, a hot pad holder, a mouse trap complete with mouse and an old-fashioned box-style telephone. Decorated six-inch rulers and thermometers also are represented.

Adams buys the magnets locally and while traveling. Friends bring them back to her from places they visit. As a result, she has a magnet shaped like a miniature ship's wheel from the Queen Mary, a lighthouse and lobster from Maine, a depiction of Elvis Presley's Graceland and a sherry bottle from the Paul Masson winery as well as several that represent attractions in the Keystone State.

Those from foreign countries include a camel from Israel and one from Italy with St. Francis of Assisi on it.

Some magnets have clever or thought-provoking sayings on them; others are of a religious nature. A frog is depicted with the thought: "Frogs are smart; they eat what bugs them." A typewriter has a sheet of paper in it with the message: "Secretaries are the elite type." One says simply:"Sexy Senior Citizen."

One magnet refers to the bookkeeping position she held at Automatic Device Co. where she worked for 25 years. "Bookkeepers are well-balanced," it states.

Her least expensive magnet cost under $1, Adams says. The most she's spent on a single piece was $6.98. She figures the cost averages out to about $2.50 each.

She logs in new acquisitions so she knows what she has. If the functional part of the magnet needs to be replaced, she uses a piece cut from magnetic tape that can be purchased by the roll.

One part of the collection is given over to food. Included in it are reproductions of commercially packaged foods like frozen vegetables and ketchup as well as several pieces that could pass for the actual item like a prune, popcorn ball and Hydrox cookie.

A shelf of books, a horse fly that looks real enough to take a swat at, a wooden cuckoo clock, a clear piece filled with mustard seed, a cross made of wood from Jerusalem, a flat stone said to be from a volcanic eruption and a tiny bear in a shopping bag with the Gucci name on it are a few of the items in the collection.

Adams also has magnets representing the "Free Parking" and "Electric Company" squares on the Monopoly game board as well as fraternal organizations and the Cathy cartoons. Some were purchased as sets - Popeye; Care Bears; Snoopy; Walt Disney characters, and professional basketball, football, hockey and baseball teams, for instance.

With the exception of sets she sent away for, Adams purchased the magnets at craft shows, church bazaars, gift shops and events like Super Sunday.

The magnets are made of plastic, straw, fabric, wood, ceramic, metal and other materials.

Adams says she plans to stop collecting when she reaches 1,000, expecting she will then run out of display space.

Right now, though, she admits "I can't go into a store without looking."

Of all the magnets in her collection, the retiree says her favorite is the one depicting the Adams coat of arms that was given her by a friend.